A Dance to Remember
by littledoggy
Summary: The Last Dance is coming, and Mikan is nervous! She decides not to attend it…but will something change her mind? Or rather…will SOMEONE do it?
1. Chapter 1

Hi people! This idea suddenly popped into my mind and I couldn't resist putting it on paper – I mean computer … Whatever. Enough of my pointless ranting. On with the STORY!

One more thing. I wish SnowMirage a.k.a. my senpai good luck in the upcoming examinations! I'm sure you'll pass every single subject you take with flying colours.

**SUMMARY**

The Last Dance is coming, and Mikan is nervous! She decides not to attend it…but will something change her mind? Or rather…will SOMEONE do it?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice. I only own this crappy plot. Got that? Good.**

**CHAPTER 1**

"Ohayo mina san! I trust you all know that the Last Dance is approaching…" Narumi sensei trailed off, looking meaningfully at his students, especially at a certain brunette who was currently drawing absent-mindedly on a page of her Math book. Ooh, Jinno sensei will be after her if she does not erase those scribbles when she hands the book in…

"…So you know what to do right?" he winked. Unfortunately Mikan had yet to rise from her stupor and continued doodling. Natsume looked over her shoulder and snorted. She had drawn countless circles, with her name inscribed in the middle of the mess.

Her pencil traced the words '_Last Dance_' in fancy script, lazily stretching the end of the 'e' to encircle the words. A dreamy smile played on her lips as she stared at the words. The memory of the previous Last Dance stayed fresh in her mind, as though it had just occurred yesterday. Time does fly by…

_Flashback…_

Fourteen-year-old Mikan walked nervously up to the crowd of milling students, her chocolate brown eyes darting frantically here and there to catch a glimpse of a familiar face and a friendly grin. Even Sumire's snide comments are welcome to her at the moment.

"Hotaru…Ruka-pyon…Koko…" she whimpered, biting her fingernails. The taste of nail polish in her mouth did nothing to ease her discomfort. Eurgh! The bitter taste in her mouth…Mikan spat it out in disgust, searching for water to cleanse her mouth. She spied a tap standing forlornly under a tree and hurried towards it, trying her best NOT to swallow. The thought of having nail polish going down her trachea and into her system was bad. Very bad.

_FRUSH!_

A jet of water gushed out of the tap, drenching her thin dress and soaked the legs beneath. She did not care for the moment. Getting rid of the annoying taste in her mouth was her main priority at the moment. Cupping her hands, she collected water in them and proceeded to gurgle. She repeated this several times until she was sure her mouth was completely clean. The taste that once lingered in her mouth was now gone. Mikan sighed in relief.

"Hey Mikan-chan," Yuu's gentle voice came from behind. Mikan jumped and turned to face her classmate. Over the course of three years Iincho had grown a great deal taller and now stood a few inches above Mikan's brown head. His features became fine and chiseled, leading to several admirers, although nowhere as near to the amount Natsume and Ruka have.

"Yuu," she greeted, looking ruefully down at her spoilt party dress. "Why are you here?"

"You looked lonely standing there alone so I came to meet you but you ran away before I managed to catch up." His voice held a hint of concern in it. "Anything wrong?"

"Iie. Ikuyo, let's go back to the party, ne?"

Right on cue, a slow music played in the background. Boys proffered their hands to their partners, who blushed and took them. The boy would then lead his partner away from the food and dance.

Yuu smiled. "Hai. Come on. Do you have a partner yet?"

"…Iie," Mikan said sadly, her gaze trained on the ground. Deep inside, she knew she wanted a certain flame caster whose ruby red eyes flared with a life of its own whenever he activated his alice. Cold though he was, he intrigued Mikan in his own way. The cheerful attitude she kept up whenever he was around was merely a façade to mask her true feelings for him. Sure, she acted naïve and oblivious to the feedbacks she received from the boy be it good or bad, but that did not mean she was dumb. "Anata?"

"Gomen Mikan, but I, uh, already have a partner," he replied nervously, biting his lip. Mikan giggled when she saw her friend's face turn various shades of red.

"And who is the lucky girl?"

"I…uh, it is…"

"Spill it!"

"Oh fine. My partner is Sumire. I couldn't find anyone else…"

"Nani? Sumire? She actually agreed?" Mikan fired the questions incredulously, her eyes widening when Yuu confirmed it. Sumire might have a nice side to her after all… "Good for you Iincho!"

"Arigato. But what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'll just sit down alone."

"Why don't you find a partner?"

"No one will want to dance with a baka like me," she murmured morosely. Yuu had a mysterious smile on his face as he spied someone coming towards them.

"I don't think you need to worry about that, Mikan-chan…"

"H-Huh?"

"Look in front of you."

A ruffled-looking Nogi Ruka was trying his best to nudge his way among dozens of screaming fangirls, looking very out of place with his disheveled blonde hair plastering itself on his face. He wore a white shirt with a blue bow beneath the collar. Black pants partly obscured the brown leather shoes he was wearing.

"Hey Mikan," he gasped. "Wait for a while okay?"

"Hai," she answered in confusion. What was going on? He would not…would he?

"Ruka-san, please dance with me!" one girl cooed, hooking her arm around his seductively. The look of disgust and terror on Ruka's face was priceless. He looked as if he was about to vomit anytime. Shaking her off, he headed grumpily in the general direction of Mikan and Yuu. His features softened somewhat at the sight of her, his frown becoming a blush.

"Um…Mikan," he said nervously, wringing his hands. Mikan awaited his speech patiently.

"What is it Ruka-pyon?"

"Will you…will youbemypartnerfortonight?" he blurted. He was getting more worked up by the minute. 'Help me', he mouthed at her. One glance over his shoulder told Mikan all she needed to know. She nodded and smiled reassuringly at him.

"What do you say?" she asked innocently, raising her voice on purpose. Ruka groaned and smacked his head. Must he repeat it? Oh well…anything to shake them off…now that Natsume was not here to shoo them away…desperate times call for desperate measures.

"Will you be my partner for tonight?" he asked breathlessly. _Please do…Hotaru will kill me if you do not._

Mikan grinned. "Sure Ruka-pyon!" she said loudly. Behind him the fangirls admitted defeat and drifted off dejectedly, hot in pursuit of yet another hot guy, namely Hyuuga Natsume, who was invisible at the moment. Ruka sighed in relief.

"I wonder what they see in that dreary and drab Sakura anyway," one girl murmured distastefully. Ruka and Mikan never heard her muffled scream nor saw the sheet of blazing flames that rose directly in front of the girl, burning her hair. Natsume muttered something incoherent under his breath and stole one last glance at the laughing brunette before turning away, leaving his two best friends alone.

"Wanna dance?" Ruka asked sweetly, offering his arm to Mikan. She blushed and nodded.

"But what about Hotaru?"

"She, uh, she is somewhere! That's it, somewhere!" Ruka exclaimed. Mikan did not appear convinced but accepted his rather unreasonable explanation anyway.

"Ikuyo."

"H-Hai Mikan." With that he led her to the dance floor. The band struck a slow song just then. Girls placed one hand on their partners' shoulder, with the latter's wrapped around their waists. Some girls giggled and went as far as leaning their heads on their partners' chests, causing the boys to blush furiously. It was rather comical to watch, if truth be told.

"Shall we dance?"

"…Uh, Ruka-pyon?" Mikan stuttered nervously.

"Yes?"

"I don't know how to."

"How to what?"

"To dance, of course."

Ruka stared at her incredulously. "What about the previous dances you had?" Mikan looked down, her fringe covering her face.

"I never really danced, if you would care to recall. Last year, the party was spoilt because someone set the fireworks off before it was time and caused a shower of sparks. The year before that it was cancelled due to heavy rain. Remember?"

"Oh yeah…but what about your first year with Hotaru?"

"That's…different. We're both girls."

Ruka guffawed, causing Mikan to look up in surprise.

"Nani?"

"So that's the problem, is it? Because I'm not Hotaru?"

"N-No…"

"Give it a try, Mikan. It is never too late to learn," Ruka said reassuringly, taking her hand and placing it on his shoulder. Mikan couldn't help blushing as she felt her hand make contact with a firm shoulder. He then placed one arm tentatively on her waist, causing her to blush even more.

"Now just do what the rest of them do."

"H-Hai…"

She started to go with the flow, moving along with the slow rhythm of the song. Ruka smiled softly and moved along with her, matching her every move. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Hotaru near the food, her face hidden behind a video recorder. He sweatdropped and started to go after her. A warning glare from Hotaru stopped him and he continued waltzing with Mikan, all the while keeping a watchful eye on the inventing genius.

Mikan closed her eyes, a small smile tugging at her lips. The soothing song was beginning to have its effect on her. It made her feel at peace, not to mention slightly drowsy. Everything went as normal until she missed her footing and started to fall.

"Oops," she whispered, her eyelids snapping open, revealing her startled brown orbs. Ruka realized a tad too late to catch her in his arms. His arms swiped at empty air as Mikan knocked him over as well.

"Oof!" she grunted. Ow…hey! Why was the ground soft and felt like fabric? Her eyes widened as they locked with grayish coloured eyes. Ruka's eyes. She screamed and scrambled off him.

_RRIP._

Her dress tore where the thin fabric was pinned under the boy, revealing her legs from ankle up, stopping only centimeters away from her waist. It gave the onlookers a good view of her well-toned thighs. Mikan blushed furiously and tried pull the hem of her dress from under Ruka, succeeding only in ripping her dress further.

"Huh, what a bad dancer," someone said rudely.

"Yeah, why dance if she doesn't know how to?"

"Useless…"

"I'm lucky she's not my partner…"

"How embarrassing!"

Tears sprung up in chocolate brown eyes, swimming about and clouding her vision. Mikan gave a choked sob before giving up and running away. The piece of silk that was pinned under Ruka was now tightly held in his hands.

"Hey, Mikan! Wait!" he yelled. Mikan did not acknowledge him and ran faster. Biting comments accompanied her all the way. He sighed and was about to chase her when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Let her calm down," Hotaru said as she munched on a sandwich. "Give her time."

"But -"

The girl aimed her baka gun at him. "But?"

Ruka gulped. "Nothing Hotaru." She nodded curtly and took another bite out of her sandwich.

"You want one?"

"How could you continue eating as if nothing had happened? She's your friend for goodness sake!" Hotaru did not answer and stuffed a muffin down his mouth, stopping his rant.

"Eat."

"Mmprgh," he muttered, his mouth full of blueberry muffin. _Mikan…_

_End of Flashback…_

Mikan gripped her pencil hard, making a black mark appear on her book. The memory stung, and she had no desire to repeat it again. To feeling of being humiliated in front of the entire Academy was embarrassing to say the least.

_No, I don't want it happening it again…once was enough. But how?_ She racked her brain for a suitable solution. Nothing surfaced, not even after minutes of deep thinking. _Maybe I should skip the Last Dance this year. It will save me the humiliation._

She was so immersed in her thoughts that she never realized Jinno sensei had entered the classroom. Striding towards the teacher's desk, he demanded coldly for the Math homework he gave them the day before.

There was a flash of red as someone snatched her Math book from under her nose. An unpleasant ripping sound was heard, tearing up the uncomfortable silence like a bullet. Mikan turned around in horror to see a page of her Math book in Natsume's fist.

"Why you -" she said in fury and tried to grab her book from him. He shrugged and threw the book at her head, knocking her off her seat. The page he ripped was tightly held in his hand. A moment later, his fist erupted into flames, burning the paper into a crisp but leaving his fist unharmed. That was no surprise. He _was_ the fire handler after all.

"_NATSUME…!_" she shrieked from her awkward position on the floor.

"Sakura, get back to your seat before I punish you," Jinno sensei said coldly.

"But -"

"One more work from you and you have to finish the whole Math book in a week."

That silenced her successfully. Mikan sent Natsume a death glare as she crept back into her seat. As usual, he had his head immersed in a manga, ignoring her. She growled and looked at her book.

Uh-oh.

Where is the page with her Math answers!

"Natsume…" she growled. Natsume spared her a bored look before returning his full attention to his book.

"What is it?"

Furious, she showed him her book. "My book!"

"…"

Mikan sighed in exasperation and thrust her arm into the air. "Um, Jinno sensei? Could I have some extra time to redo my work?" she piped. No luck. The teacher's mouth curled into a smile as he shook his head.

"As promised, finish the whole Math book."

"_HOE!_"

"Hai. Hand it to me by next week."

"Natsume…this is all your fault!" _This is the last straw! I am NOT going to the Last Dance! Though what a pathetic reason not to do so…_

',',

How was it? I guess it was bad...

Please review! Flames...will be accepted. IF the reason(s) you sent me one is/are reasonable. Otherwise...into the rubbish bin it goes .


	2. Chapter 2

Hello! Thanks for the reviews, you made me happy ;) This chapter is for all six of you reviewers! Oh, and let's not forget the other readers, shall we?

**SUMMARY**

The Last Dance is coming, and Mikan is nervous! She decides not to attend it…but will something change her mind? Or rather…will SOMEONE do it?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice. I only own the crappy plot of this story.**

Mikan stared forlornly at excited girls who were talking animatedly about the upcoming Last Dance. She felt a pang in her heart, remembering the workload she had left to do. Thanks to Natsume…Though she could not imagine where the page with her scribbles on disappeared to.

"Would you care to be my partner?" a boy asked as he held out a small bouquet of flowers to a girl. Her friends squealed and she blushed furiously, the flowers now in her hands.

"Yes," she whispered happily. Her girlfriends whooped and cheered.

"Lucky girl! I wonder who my partner will be," one cooed blissfully.

_Sigh…I'd better go back to my room,_ Mikan thought. _Nothing of interest here…_

….

"So Hotaru, who are you going with?" Mikan asked excitedly. Inside, she was feeling anything but happy. Her heart was aching to go to the Last Dance yet she did not think she could face the humiliation again.

"Ruka."

"Nani? And he agreed?"

"He will. Right Ruka?"

"And why should I?" Ruka protested.

"If you rather I sell that picture with -"

"Okay! Okay! I get the message!" he groaned. Why must he be the subject of her blackmail anyway?

"That's settled then."

"Um…Congratulations?" Mikan said uncertainly. What a weird way to get a partner. Hotaru is Hotaru, after all.

"Arigato."

Mikan stayed there awkwardly without any more topics to discuss. Hotaru simply ignored her and concentrated on her book instead. Feeling bored, she walked over to a very distressed Ruka.

"Why must I do what she says?" he moaned, hiding his face behind his hands.

"Uh…because she'll blackmail you if you don't?"

He moaned some more, not bothering to look at Mikan.

"Aww, cheer up Ruka-pyon. Look at the bright side!"

"I see no light to this solution."

"Hey, at least you wouldn't be hounded by your fangirls," Mikan snorted. _Yeah, like last year._

"I guess you're right," he muttered. "But why Imai?"

"Ehehe, you have to find that out for yourself."

Ruka groaned. "That mind of Imai's is as complicated as a maze."

"Care to repeat that?" Hotaru's voice said dangerously, her baka gun at the ready.

"Ah…nothing, H-H – I mean Imai." Mikan sweatdropped at their behaviour. Are they really friends? Hotaru's way of showing affection sure was weird. Sighing, she looked down to the table, suddenly finding it very interesting.

"I have to go," she sighed. "Math homework," she explained upon seeing Ruka's perplexed look.

"Ah, I see. Bye then!"

Mikan flashed him a smile and traipsed out of the door. On the way to her two-star room she was bombarded with many questions like 'what are you going to wear?' and 'who is your partner?' It frustrated her no end. Was it compulsory to attend the Last Dance? She did not know.

_I am not going to the Last Dance, so please leave me alone!_ Mikan wanted to scream at her jovial friends. But of course she could not, so she satisfied herself with a polite excuse.

_The excuse of Math homework. Huh! The worst excuse in the world! If only I could skip doing Jinno sensei's work…but I dare not. I guess I could nullify his lightning anytime, but boy, I will be in for it if I do!_

_Sigh…better settle down to do it then…_

….

"Ooh! I can't wait for the Last Dance tonight!" Sumire squealed. She had finally got rid of her old hairstyle and tied it up in a half-pony instead. Her attitude barely changed though…besides the fact that she had lost her puppy love for Natsume.

"So who is your partner?" her friend asked, leaning her elbows on a desk.

"That's a secret!"

"Aww…come on," another cajoled. Mikan giggled behind her hand. It was funny to watch Permy's face getting rapidly redder by the minute. No, make that every second.

"No!"

"Who are you going with Mikan?" Yuu asked shyly.

"Oh…I don't know," Mikan answered truthfully. She might not – correction, will not – go to the Last Dance anyway, so what was the point of finding a partner? "What about you?"

"Haven't found one yet. Well," he sighed as Narumi sensei stood up to leave the class, "good luck Mikan."

"Luck? What for?"

"There's a Math quiz today, remember?"

"_NANI!_"

….

"Phew, at least I passed," Mikan groaned as she stretched herself, her pencil momentarily abandoned atop her mountain of homework, namely Math. She still had a quarter of the book to do before she finished it…darn Natsume for landing her in this predicament.

Speaking of Natsume, where was that boy? She hardly saw him around these days. Oh well. _I don't care for him anyway,_ she thought silently. _Do I?_

Whatever. There was her punishment to be reckoned with…and the excited squeals from next door are _not_ helping. With an exasperated sigh Mikan slammed the book shut and stomped out of her room.

Students were milling about, already wearing their costumes. No one noticed a small figure leave her room and slink quietly away towards one of the most desolate places in the Academy: the closet.

A small hand crept slowly forwards to touch some soft fabric. Mikan sighed. _I thought I would wear this to the Last Dance this year. Oh well. I guess I can't make it._ The dress before her was tight fitting with sparkling blue sequins studding it. A long, flowing white skirt followed.

Her hand traced it lovingly. Mikan had sewn it herself when she was bored and had grown fond of it, each stitch done with utmost care. The silk had been a gift from Hotaru for her last birthday. That was another reason why she wanted to put it to good use.

_I guess I could try it on…no harm in doing so right?_ Her slender hand slipped through the folds of white and blue, searching for the zip located somewhere at the back of the dress.

A smile graced her features as the dress went over her head. Her fingers fumbled with the zip. Boy, it was hard to zip it alone! Ah, done now. Where is the sash? She searched frantically for it, probing every inch of the fabric in the process. Finally she noticed two long trails of pale blue ribbon and traced its source to her sides. She grasped them thankfully and tied them expertly around her slim waist.

The two strands of ribbon became a complete bow on her back, showing off her curves. Her shoulders were bare without any fabric to cover it. Mikan had meant to make some puffy sleeves to match the dress but she had run out of blue silk. Any other colour did not seem to go well enough with it. Oh well. It was nice the way it is.

She smiled at her reflection, turning around every now and then to see it from every angle. Her dress hugged her slim body and flared out at the hips, giving her the perfect look. _Good. Now to let my hair down. No one will see me._

Two hands reached up to pull the rubber bands off her silky hair. Brown locks cascaded gently past her shoulders, caressing her porcelain smooth face in the process. She giggled softly to herself and combed her hair with her fingers.

Some rustling sounded behind her, making the lithe frame of the girl stiffen. Who was it? Darn it…she could hear voices. There are more than two of them. No time to change back into her school uniform now. They were much too close. She had to make a break for it…

_Now!_

Mikan gathered her flowing skirt and slunk quietly out through a small door in the corner of the room just before four students came in, chattering happily. The girl ignored them and proceeded to check out her surroundings. She was in a dark passage. Gulping, she looked around in fear. Ghosts do not exist…do they?

Soft music started to play in the background as lights flashed merrily. Mikan crept closer to a window where she could watch the Last Dance that was being held in the open field nearby. Couples were laughing and exchanging news, eating merrily. Some boys extended their hands to the girls before them, inviting them to dance. Of course, the girls accepted, blushing furiously.

Mikan had to giggle when she saw their reactions. Do all couples act that way? Several people led their partners to the front and started dancing. Despite the cheery attitude she was displaying at the moment, she felt a small pang of sadness in her heart. If only she could go too…but she did not dare to face them. What if her dress tore again? She would be a laughing stock for sure.

So engrossed was she in watching the dancing couples that she did not hear the soft sound of approaching footsteps. The brunette gasped when she saw one of the boys kissing the other on the cheek. The girl in question turned various shades of red.

"What are you doing here?" someone drawled. Mikan screamed and whirled around to face the person.

"Natsume!"

"Why aren't you dancing?" The sight of Mikan with her hair down really intrigued the boy. Not to mention the eye-catching costume she wore too. Beautiful yet not too revealing. It suited her perfectly. She was a goddess in his eyes. It was as if Mikan was a heavenly being. She appeared so much more matured and sophisticated. Not that he would admit that…

"I…I don't dare to," she whispered softly, twirling her fingers around a lock of her shiny brown hair. Natsume snorted. She looked cute that way.

"Come on, let's go."

"No thanks. Why aren't you there?" she asked curiously. Mikan scrutinized him carefully. He wore a white shirt with a stiff collar and long black pants that reached down to his shoes. It really brought out the contrasting colours of his ruby red eyes and dark blue hair.

_Because I knew you would not go,_ was the truthful answer. Being Natsume, he merely shrugged and looked out of the window.

"No point in going without a partner."

"Why don't you find one? I'm sure one of your fangirls would agree."

He snorted again. One? Make that all of them. He was not interested in them anyway. Squealing like monkeys whenever they spotted him…disgusting.

"…"

Mikan sighed and looked out once more, watching the dancing couples wistfully. Suddenly a hand grabbed her wrist roughly, making her squeal with fright.

"What is it?" she hissed when she realized that the hand belonged to no other than Hyuuga Natsume himself. He started pulling her outside as an answer. "Let go of me!"

"…"

"Oh, look. It's Sakura. Planning on tripping again?" a girl sneered, oblivious to Natsume's cold glare. One moment she had a sickly looking smile on her face, and the other she was screaming with her butt on fire, a tribute to Natsume's fire alice.

"You don't have to do that you know," Mikan muttered distractedly. "Let's go away. I…I don't want to be here."

"You are going to stay," he replied simply, sticking his hands into the pockets of his black pants.

"No…" she turned away and sprinted off in the opposite direction. Natsume cursed lightly under his breath and took off in pursuit of her.

_Why, out of all things, did I have to wear high heels today?_ Mikan moaned inwardly. It really slowed her down. A firm hand closed on her right arm, stopping her in her tracks.

Looking up, she found herself mesmerized by two seas of passionate red flames. Natsume dragged her back towards the venue of the Last Dance without uttering so much as one word. But then again, this was Hyuuga Natsume she was talking about. He was unique, the most dangerous among the dangerous, the… Hey! Why was she thinking of him?

It was too late for her to struggle now. Natsume had led her straight to the dance floor. She watched the dancing couples coming closer with increasing fear evident in her deep brown eyes.

"I don't want to do this," she blurted abruptly, earning stares from several people.

"Wow, is that Hyuuga Natsume?"

"I wonder why he is here…"

Mikan whimpered and tried to pull away from his strong grip. For such a thin boy, Natsume had a lot of strength. His grip was unrelenting yet it did not cause her pain.

"Start dancing before they start gaping at us, baka," he hissed. When she did not respond he took the matter into his own hands by placing her slender hand onto his shoulder. His arm encircled her slim waist, making the young woman blush.

"Follow me," Natsume commanded gently as he began swaying according to the rhythm. (Whoa, I envy Mikan! Hehe.) Mikan nodded nervously. She watched his every move attentively, the burning sensation she felt on her cheeks growing more intense with every passing second. It was as though they were on fire. A warm heat that gave her a carefree feeling in her tummy each time he gazed at her.

Natsume moved a step to the right. The nervous girl quickly copied his move. She was afraid. What if she stepped on his toes? Would there be an inferno surrounding her? She sure hoped not. A step to the left…one step backwards followed by a step forwards…Mikan gathered enough courage to look timidly up into the ruby red eyes belonging to him. Only him, and no other.

The second she spent gazing up at him came at a price. Mikan gasped as she felt herself fall backwards. She shut her eyes in fear, not wanting to experience the humiliation all over again.

One second…

Two…

Five seconds…

Eh? Why hadn't she hit the ground yet? Mikan then felt the loss of a comforting pressure on her waist as Natsume's hand traveled up her back and stop around her shoulders.

With an impressive gesture, Natsume pulled her closer to his warm body. This caused her to twirl around a 360-degree angle. Her long hair was blown forwards by the impact and tickled his chest.

"That wasn't too bad, was it?" he murmured into her ear. His exhaled, the warm air rushing down her neck. Mikan giggled despite her shock. The colour of her cheeks deepened as she realized how close she was to the fire handler.

"N-No."

"Care for another round?"

"I…I, uh…"

Natsume sighed and pulled away from her, placing her hand once more on his shoulder whereas his own rested on her waist.

"Confident now?"

"I-I'll try," she whispered softly, her timid brown eyes meeting his deep ruby red ones. Right on cue the band struck up a slow, classical song, inviting the students to dance.

Natsume spared her a small smile and started to move according to the rhythm, throwing glares at gaping couples as he met their stare with his own. They gulped and continued dancing as if nothing had happened.

Sakura Mikan was happy. No, more than that. She was practically over the moon! Dancing with Hyuuga Natsume was one of her wildest dreams which she never thought would come to pass. Yet, here she was now, dancing gracefully with him as though she had been dancing for years.

So what if she did not know how to dance? The important thing is to enjoy the song and go with the flow. And may I add with your loved one? In short, it is the feeling that counts and not the experience.

Mikan smiled blissfully at the fire starter before her, causing him to blush lightly. He hid it under his bangs. Giggling softly, she placed her head onto his chest and prepared to dance as long as the night was young.

_And I don't think I mind if I dance until my feet were sore either,_ she thought to herself. _As long as you are with me, Natsume-kun._

Her smile widened as she felt a hand going through her brown locks, caressing her scalp. Grinning, she snuggled deeper into his chest.

"Arigato, Natsume-kun."

"Hn." _You made my night as well, Mikan._

_I would not have felt this happy if you did not come for me back when we were in Elementary school and aided me in escaping the endless darkness I was cursed to stay in…_

_Because the atmosphere lightens up when basking in your presence…_

_And because…I love you, Sakura Mikan._

_I love you more than life itself._

_You are mine, and mine alone._

_MY Sakura Mikan._

**THE END**

So. Do you like it?

If you do, mind leaving a review behind? I'd really appreciate it.

Ja ne mina san!


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